hi there gardeners 🌱👋🏽 my name is elizabeth, and i am the founder of Tomorrow's Garden - a non-profit seed farm growing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
i started this business in 2019 as a plant nursery, but quickly jumped into the rabbit hole that is seeds. seeing a sapling emerge from the seed or soil is top 5 things that make me happiest in life. to fuel this serotonin and to save money for my nursery business i taught myself how to save seeds, and in the process learned how seeds are legit the most important aspect of successfully growing a garden.
there are a lot of non-profits that focus on non-perishable food pantries, saving produce from being discarded and redistributing, and cooking fresh meals for those who need them. all amazing food going where it needs to go, today. but what about the food for tomorrow? how do we ensure that we can keep feeding ourselves, and our community?
that's where seeds come in.
my non-profit exists to help people obtain food security for the future. by saving seeds from plants that grew in your own environment - with your own schedule, resources, and ability - those plants are now passing down the genetics and what they learned to thrive in your environment to their off-spring. the more often you save those seeds and repeat this process, the more fruitful your plants will be the next time you start those seeds.
i teach classes in person all around my city about starting and saving seeds, and a few other related subjects in between to do my part in helping fight food insecurity. i am available here on tumblr to help with any questions you have, and am the moderator of the tumblr seed swap community. i sometimes write long articles about growing food and seeds and post on here so keep an eye out. if you're interested in learning more about Tomorrow's Garden mission, check out the website. i'm also more than happy to help guide you through setting up seed swaps in your city, i am always a dm away and my asks are always open 💚
*this will be deleted/don’t mind my actual account I have*
Midwesterners, homesteaders, gardeners, botanists, anyone who knows about corn
what have I done wrong?
Is my corn going to die? 😿😭
Can I do anything to save it?
I think it’s Physoderma brown spot disease, which for what I’ve been able to find there’s no home remedy and there’s not much knowledge on if fungicides even work. Which I’m an organic gardener so… it would need to not be any type of chemicals.
I’m crying you don’t understand how much this corn means to me.
We're quite new to gardening and I have a bit of a conundrum.
You see, we were attempting to grow dwarf sunflowers before the summer heat really kicked up. Unfortunately, despite doing what we could to protect them, they didn't have the chance to open up. New bulbs have been spotted, however, and I just finished up pruning the dead bulbs.
On to my question!
Is there any way to salvage the seeds from these little ones? If not, is there some other use for them? I do not wish for them to go to waste.
Thank you in advance! A picture is attached for reference. I'm quite fond of the double headed one!
Tomato plants - This year, I planted Sun Gold tomatoes and Cherokee Purple tomatoes in my little garden plot. I didn't mark or specify which is which, but the tomatoes are significantly different from one another. We are just starting to see the very first baby tomatoes on the plants.
The other day I noticed these beautiful drop-shaped babies hatching. They are already too big to be Sun Golds. Is this what a Cherokee Purple tomato looks like before reaching its final form? Did I get a wildcard tomato instead?
❗️ GARDENING/PLANT SIDE OF TUMBLR; I HAVE SOME QUESTIONS ❗️
This is my child, his name is Charlie and I've had him for ~6 Years Now. I just gave him some fresh soil because the weather is finally nice over here in the mountains. (He's an indoor plant!)
I wanted to ask a few questions and get some advice.
A) What type of Leafy plant is Charlie? I've long since lost the stick tag (he was a gift for me lol) and have forgotten completely.
A.2) Also, based on species, is it normal for him to be that big/tall? I stood next to him and he came up to my shoulder (I'm 5" 2.75"). Will he stop here or is he just gonna get bigger and bigger?
B) All I've done with pruning is taking off yellow/dead leaves, is there more I should be doing? He's been very healthy thus far with just that, but I would like to know if I should be doing more. 🤔
C) What is this bulb (pictured below)? He usually sprouts little white flowers that fall off after a while, but this is new. It popped up sometime over the winter and hasn't changed.
Thank you all for anything you can tell me, my boy has been going strong for many years and I want to keep him as healthy as I can. 🫡 💚
It took me three years and eight-plus attempts before I worked out a system to do this, and now, having found a method that has worked multiple times, I want to share it. Because packets of plentiful lavender seeds are four for $1.25 at Dollar Tree, and a single potted lavender plant will run you $7+. Bumblebees love lavender, and it looks and smells great.
This method also works on milkweed, and would probably work on similar seeds that need cold stratification.
1. Get your seeds. Surprisingly, the cheap American Seed variety that’s four for $1.25 have performed great for me. Botanical Interests and Pinetree Garden have also done well.
2. Wet a paper towel until it’s damp. Put the damp paper towel on a paper plate. Sprinkle the seeds on the paper towel. Put the plate with the damp paper towel and seeds on it in a plastic ziplock style bag, and put it in the fridge. Leave it there for about two weeks, but as long as they’re not getting moldy, longer is fine.
3. After two weeks, prepare a container with drainage holes in the bottom. Take organic seed starting mix, mixed with worm castings, and wet it until it’s wet enough that you can squeeze just a little water out of it. Just about any container will work. I used soil blocks which are great, but the plastic tubs that strawberries come in or something similar, is fine too. You want it to be able to drain, and have enough space/ be deep enough that the seedlings can grow roots for a while.
4. Remove the seeds from the fridge and immediately place them on the seed starting mix, Do NOT leave the bag sitting out, this step must be done right after removing them from the fridge. Do NOT cover the seeds with soil. Press them gently onto the soil so they have good contact with it. If they stick to your fingers, you can use something flat and nonstick to gently press them down. I haven’t experimented with it, but you could possibly try scattering some vermiculite on top.
5. Cover the container with something to prevent evaporation and keep humidity in. Dollar stores often have plastic cloches in spring, but you can use literally anything that is A) COMPLETELY CLEAR and 2. Won’t melt. Plastic wrap used for food is fine if you’re using LED lights that don’t produce much heat. Otherwise, use something more sturdy.
6. Set it under a grow light. I use the cheap four-foot Hyper Tough LED shop lights from Walmart. They do NOT have to be special plant lights, because these seedlings will not be growing indoors forever, just until they’re big enough to harden off.
7. Wait. Wait longer. I got germination within a few days, but lavender can take up to a month to germinate. Don’t panic if it takes a long time. Also, they can germinate at vastly different speeds. I had some still germinating while the rest were ready to harden off and go outside.
8. Keep the seeds and soil damp. They won’t germinate if they dry out at this stage. But you don’t want them so wet that they rot, either.
9. When you have a good number of seedlings, remove the cover and make sure the container is close to the light, like within a few inches.
10. If you planted all in one container or have too many seedlings too close together in the soil blocks - when they have their first set or two of true leaves, gently use a spoon or fork to lift them out, separate them, and transplant them into their own containers. You can water with a very diluted liquid fertilizer once they have at least two sets of true leaves, but don’t overdo it. Lavender likes neglect, but I saw good results from mild fertilizer while they were young. Only do this every couple weeks if you choose to use it.
11. Let them grow indoors until they’re big enough that you can recognize they are lavender, and then you can start hardening them off by slowly acclimating them to the outdoors. Your plant likely won’t bloom the first year and won’t have the best show of flowers the second year, but give it three years or more and you’ll get a more impressive bloom with the right conditions.
what the hell, why are my dahlias all dying? no frost (44 degrees), no spraying, they were fine YESTERDAY EVENING, nothing else in the garden is dying like this
is it just the leaves or are they getting destroyed?
